So I am shopping for a IPS monitor that has close real-estate approximation to my dying pair of 19" Hyundai monitors. The best I have come up with so far is the Dell 27" (which I am seeing reports of a lot of failures) and this: DoubleSight DS-277W

Darned near everyone carries the DoubleSight DS-277W, and Walmart will ship one free to a store nearby saving a good chunk of money. The monitors apparently use a Samsung panel, but are not LED back-lit so a bit pricey on heat and power. They are aluminum and rugged, and cheaper than the Dell unless I wait for a Dell sale.

Is there something I am missing as to not purchase one of these? While still pricey, seems the better finish on them than the reported Dell finish may even lean me more. I am a bit reluctant to part with cash right now based on low job security, but I may be monitor-less soon based on 1 DOA and the other starting to "snow" out.

Any advice is helpful.

forgot: I hate Walmart, but I think I can forgive it for this purchase due to convenience.

Damn, I better make my mind up quick if I want that discount. Turns out I have a local Mac warehouse nearby (MacAve) with 27" Cinema displays in-stock. I can stop by this afternoon and take a peek. The problem is my video card has a standard DisplayPort, not a mini to support that monitor.

Still unsure which to get, even though the Mac is more expensive, the convenience and support from a local shop is probably worth the extra $$$.

You can almost buy two 24" IPS panels or three 27" TN panels for the price of the DoubleSight.

I bought an Asus VW266H monitor last year for $300. It's a TN panel with 1920 x 1200 res. My only complaint is that it didn't have a stand with adjustable height. I was considering buying an HP or Dell with an IPS panel but I didn't want to pay the extra $200 for a screen with slightly better viewing angles and more accurate color reproduction. TN panels are good enough for 97% of computer users. You have to ask yourself if you're that 3% of the popluation who needs something better.

If you don't trust the build quality of Dell, why would you trust the build quality of a newcomer like DoubleSight? Dell probably sells 100 times more 27" monitors than DoubleSight so there are going to be a larger number of complaints for Dell's products. But not necessarily a larger percentage of montiors sold.

Also, I hate Walmart too. So I can understand your reluctance to buy something from them.

Understatement of the year. For most computer users a TN will in fact do fine, but IPS panels don't have "slightly" better viewing angles. It's a world of difference. *Anything* but dead center when looking at a TN panel introduces color / brightness shift. I have a TN panel monitor and love it for what it is and how much it cost, but the angles are especially bad on the vertical axis as soon as I put my feet up on the desk an lean back on my chair, it goes becomes a lot darker.

There is a fixed amount of intelligence on the planet, and the population keeps growing :(

You may have an older LCD because I haven't noticed significant color/brightness shifting. Of course I don't lean back in my chair and put my feet up on the desk. I'm not at home right now so I can't try that out. I suppose if you're trying to watch a movie that would be a problem. You can point out all the differences you want but 99% of the time you won't notice the color shifting. If you do, you can adjust your habits to prevent that. Is leaning back in your chair really worth spending an extra $700?

Biggins wrote:If you do, you can adjust your habits to prevent that. Is leaning back in your chair really worth spending an extra $700?

Adjusting my habits is reasonable. Not moving my head more than 5" to each side isn't . I have a Samsung 226BW, by the way, which in every other aspect is pretty good as TN panels go. Besides, nobody's talking about a $700 difference, unless you're talking about a 30" panel. These days you can find 24" and under for $400. I just came back from a friend's, and he got a brand new Dell U2311H (IPS) for only 190€ ($275). Awesome deal, and awesome monitor.

There is a fixed amount of intelligence on the planet, and the population keeps growing :(

I find the TN color shift distracting and annoying as hell. I have never seen an acceptable TN monitor, let alone a good one. I find that facing a TN monitor straight on, dead center, without moving my head an inch, I can easily discern major image variance.

I took a look at the Cinema MAC monitor, and while I could use an adapter, apparently my ATI 5770 card does not talk to it through the display port on a PC. Curious though since the 5770 is the same processor MAC sold for way over-priced to MAC users. I have an nVidia GT260 kicking around here someplace if I decided to go that route, but it seems like a lot of hassle for little gain. I don't think it has a DisplayPort on it anyhow. It seems the only way to adjust that monster is to use Bootcamp to get drivers loaded so I can turn down brightness and adjust color. It has all the desirables though: LED backlight, many pixels, great coating for a dark room.

I currently have two 19" TN panels and they are acceptable, rarely do I look off-center. However I would like to have the same horizontal pixel count yet no damned bezel since for me screen real-estate is king. 2560x1024 or more... I am not finding TN panels with this as it seems manufacturers are hell-bent on making me watch TV on my computer when I am supposed to be working. I am not going to buy a 27" monitor to just have HDTV resolutions. It is not enough for CAD work. IPS is nice since I also like taking pictures, but I am no pro so IPS is just icing on the cake. $900+ though is hard to swallow.

This is mostly so I can distinguish 14 layers of PCB at once and see that red is red all the way across the screen, not pink, orange, dark red, etc.

Well, I decided to try and clean my DVI connectors up and see how it may be effecting my signal integrity. It took a while to get the clutter off of my desk! Anyhow after using a toothbrush and rubbing alcohol plus re-seating, all problems appear to have cleared up! No snow on monitor 1 anymore, and monitor 2 now comes on no matter the resolution. It seems monitor 2 was detecting video but something was lacking to make the back-light come on. Anyhow I have time to think about an upgrade now...

So much for that, I must have gotten lucky on monitor #2 where it turned on after a zillion tries. Now really DOA. I ordered the 27" from Walmart which for me is like pulling out my teeth and nails slowly. However I could not beat the 2 year no questions asked extended warranty, free shipping, the return policy (no questions asked full refund no restocking, etc), the low cost, and the $50 rebate offer. Only gripe: I had to pay taxes.

I am probably going to make my wife retrieve it from the store when the time comes so I don't have to set foot in there. Problem is she is only 4'9", that may be asking a bit much. Ok, I don't hate Walmart that much, but for some reason I always feel like I need a shower after we go there.

liquidsquid wrote:I always feel like I need a shower after we go there.

Take some hand sanitizer and use it every 5 minutes.

I don't hate Walmart because of their cleanliness. I boycott them because of their business policies and practices. Half of China would be unemployed if Walmart shut down... Ok that's an exaggeration but you get the point.

Having a bit of trouble being patient with Walmart's delivery timing. "It will arrive between: 8/8/2011 and 8/18/2011" Oh come one, with such a well-tracked and inventoried business that is the best they can tell me?

Oh, and I only feel dirty not because of the cleanliness, but the violation to my beliefs to support the business. But I wont get all R&P on ya...

Well, I have it hooked up. It worked great right out of the box via dual DVI connection! Yay!

I have to say my eyes are not quite used to this super-sharp resolution, brightness, and tiny text. The text is smaller that what I saw on the 19" displays since I can finally scooch this 27" monitor into the desktop hole it is supposed to fit in. May have to get used to sitting a bit closer to my desk . Still have some calibration to do!

Needless to say it is a very well-built screen, and it's display finish is a well-balanced non-reflective coating. Happy so far...

Based on user reviews the HP ZR30W is very good for gaming. It lacks a scalar so the input lag is very low. I'd like to get one at some point, though I say that for almost every new monitor that comes out.